Pin It to Win It

Emory Anderson
Staff Writer 
  Bonneville High School (BHS) has a skilled group of individuals on their wrestling team. Everyone on the team works extremely hard, and they know when there is a problem that needs to be worked on and will work as a team to do what they can to fix it. The two members on the team that were interviewed were Zoë Ortiz and Axxel Landon.
  Zoë Ortiz, a senior this year, is on the BHS wrestling team. Ortiz was introduced to wrestling when she lived in California and would do Jujitsu with her uncle which led to her interest in wrestling. Ortiz says that when she needs to cut or build for a weight class, she diets and watches what she eats. Another technique Ortiz uses to stay in shape are drill workouts. Sometimes the team participates in Bulgarian bag work\outs. Ortiz stated that when preparing for a match, she personally does not listen to music and will just put on her head gear and get in the zone. When it is a big match, Ortiz will warm up with her practice partner and do a bit of light drills and build up a sweat before she steps onto the mat. Two wrestlers that Ortiz looks up to are David Carr and Helen Maroulis. Carr wrestles for Iowa State University, and Maroulis was the first U.S. woman to win gold at the Olympics for wrestling. Ortiz is ready for what is to come for the rest of the season, especially state where she can not wait to see how the girls team competes. At this point in the season, the team's mindset and attitude are the two primary focal points. Along with having a strong body, a strong mentality is also needed.
  Another one of the wrestlers this year is Axxel Landon, who is a junior. He started wrestling due to his football coach in middle school, Zairrick Wadsworth, who convinced Landon to give it a try. Landon cuts for a weight class by eating healthy, practicing more and running daily. When getting ready for a match, Landon warms up by building up a sweat and staying loose. One of the wrestlers that Landon looks up to is John Smith due to his technique and wrestling style. Another one that he looks up to is Anthony Williams, a former BHS wrestler, who “taught [him] that [he] can work towards a goal no matter how out of reach people say it is.” This season has been a successful one for Landon as an individual and he feels that as a team they have peaked just in time for state. With state coming up, Landon is “[v]ery excited to compete with the best in state with [the] team.” One thing that Landon is looking forward to next season is a state title. 
  The wrestling team at BHS is full of dedicated individuals that have worked hard for a place on the team. This season has been a good one and with the state tournament coming up it will continue to head in that direction.

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